


another soul (interlude)

by rarmaster



Series: (who's gonna) Save the World [8]
Category: Homestuck, Tales of Symphonia, 悪魔城ドラキュラ 暁月の円舞曲 と 蒼月の十字架 | Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow & Dawn of Sorrow
Genre: Bodysharing, Gen, Kratos just wants to go home
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-20
Updated: 2018-08-20
Packaged: 2019-06-30 05:57:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,627
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15745668
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rarmaster/pseuds/rarmaster
Summary: Bonus scenes from(the burden of) another soul.Kratos contemplates his prediciment. Dracula wakes up.





	another soul (interlude)

**Author's Note:**

> this happens between the first two scenes of _another soul_. I suppose I could have patched this directly into _another soul_ instead of posting it separately, but eh, whatever.

Kratos walked briskly, grateful that he could simply choose not to feel the oppressive heat of the desert. The two kids—Jade and Soma, they’d said their names were—walked behind him, keeping up surprisingly well. He supposed he had no right to tell them _not_ to follow them, though he was not sure he appreciated the company. They were nothing but a distraction.

Their chatter was loud and their laughter bright, a little grating on Kratos’ ears. This was no time for levity, but rather than tell them that, it was easier to just choose not to hear it. Being an angel had its perks. Of course, it was probably unwise to traverse an unknown land while being deaf to approaching dangers, but Kratos felt confident enough there were no nearby threats—not that he could sense through mana nor long-trained instincts of a warrior—and he could allow himself a few minutes of nothing but silence in his skull so he could just _think_.

He had to figure out how to return home. Hopefully the buildings in the distance meant civilization, and civilization could tell them where they were.

All Kratos knew was that it wasn’t Sylvarant, and it wasn’t Tethe’alla. The mana was much too thin, never mind completely different, a bitter taste to it. The thought of being on a brand new world wasn’t comfortable at all. Would there be technology enough to return him to his own world? Was returning to his own world even possible?

It had to be. If he was missing from Welgaia for too long, with no orders from Yggdrasill to be away, then… Kratos almost didn’t want to think of the consequences, but he could not keep Lloyd’s face out of his mind’s eye. Yggdrasill had threatened to kill him once before. Would he go through with it, as punishment for Kratos vanishing? What other horrible things would that child’s mind think right, while in the throes of grief and without Kratos to hold him back?

( _Kratos thought, as if he had ever actually been brave enough to hold Mithos back_.)

Kratos did not believe in a god, but he offered prayers to whatever spirits may be out there for Lloyd’s safety. Surely, he could be gone a day or two and Mithos would not become too suspicious. Surely, he could trust in Yggdrasill’s cruelty to protect Lloyd, as odd as that would seem—because after all, why bother killing Kratos’ son if Kratos wasn’t there to watch?

Still, the sooner he returned home the better.

There were many other things that could kill Lloyd.

And if Lloyd and Yuan finished their plans to release all the Summon Spirits before he got back…

If he never got the materials for the ring to Lloyd…

Kratos was spared from having to think through the list of all the things that could go wrong in his absence by a sudden flare of mana from the boy—Soma. It was dark and powerful, and though Kratos could not _see_ it when he turned, he could sense the way it coursed angrily through the boy’s veins before it settled. Soma had staggered where he stood, and for good reason. Whatever that had been…

Kratos turned his hearing back on, watching Soma carefully, searching for the words to ask as they all came to a halt.

“You okay??” Jade asked, squinting at him. Could she sense it, too?

“I- yeah,” Soma answered, words a little labored. It was _relief,_ though, that started to crystalize on his face. “Yeah, sorry, I just tripped on something. I’m okay!” He seemed fond, for some reason, though there was now a weight on his shoulders there hadn’t been before.

They started walking again.

Kratos was not sure what to make of the sudden intense darkness he could feel in Soma. It was dark enough to easily rival the darkness of the Summon Spirit, Shadow, and powerful enough to rival Origin. Perhaps Soma’s world, wherever it was, had Summon Spirits as well. It felt adjacent, even if Kratos could not recall someone ever holding a Summon Spirit’s power in their own body. Maybe that was just how it worked on Soma’s world.

Or it was something else entirely.

But Soma’s dodge-y answer made it clear he did not intend to elaborate on what had happened to him, and his lack of panic meant it was something he was well aware of and hopefully had control over. Jade wasn’t asking, either.

Kratos would much rather worry about finding his way home than asking any prying questions. Hopefully, he wouldn’t be traveling long enough with Soma that it would matter.

 

**\- - -**

 

“So how many memes do you _not know_ ,” Soma asked Jade, still reeling from the fact she hadn’t had the internet as he knew it since 2009, which was fucking _ancient times before he was even born._ What memes had even existed, back then? Like, none of them, right?? None of the _good_ ones.

“Um, all of them, I guess,” Jade answered, rubbing at her chin. “Unless there’s some kind of classic from pre-2009 that survived into 2035.” Her eyes got a little distant as she thought about it, then her eyes lit in a way that suggested she struck gold. “Oh!! Do you remember the uh, the peanut butter jelly song. You know, like, peanut butter jelly with a baseball bat? That’s a classic, right.”

“The.” Soma stared at her in disbelief, startled laughter bubbling up in his throat. “What are you, my _grandma_??”

Jade giggled. “No! I don’t think I’m old enough for that!!”

“What the fuck!!” Soma was grinning, even if he was horrified. What did it say about Jade’s sense of humor that the classic meme she picked _wasn’t even a remotely good one_.

“Hey, what are some good memes you know?” Jade asked, eyes glinting. “Maybe one of them is so good that the multiverse decided that every universe must have it! Like uh. Oh! Sweet Bro and Hella Jeff. _Please_ tell me that one’s managed to cross the dimensional universe borders.”

“No,” Soma said, and then: “What?”

“Aw…” Jade seemed _legitimately_ disappointed. Soma made a mental note to look it up when he got back, because maybe he’d just never heard of it.

“Look, uh, lemme try and think of one this time,” Soma said, racking his brain. What _were_ memes he knew?

“Remember: _multi-universal importance_ is what we’re aiming for,” Jade told him.

“Right, right.” Soma dug through his brain a little deeper, though honestly it had gone completely blank of memes at the moment. Oh wait, yeet was a fucking classic, wasn’t—

Soma staggered a step, thoughts of memes being blown completely from his mind as a familiar darkness roared to life in his veins, and following that a sense of discomfort blossoming to life in a knot at the back of his mind, a knot that was his awareness of Dracula, which ever since their deal had been nothing but a gentle whisper of a sleeping soul. But now it was awake and restless, making Soma’s eyes dart around so Dracula could take in their surroundings.

‘ _Where are we?’_ the dark lord asked, angry and perhaps… was that fear? Soma did him the favor of not dwelling on it.

 _Good morning to you too,_ Soma said, a little cheeky.

Dracula boiled, clearly upset. ‘ _Answer my question, Soma. This is not our world.’_

 _It’s not,_ Soma agreed. _But I don’t know where it is. If it helps, we weren’t kidnapped by a cult or anything, so I think we’re safe,_ Soma reassured him, joy bubbling up in his chest. He’d missed the sound of Dracula’s voice, actually. Dracula scoffed at the sensation of joy, but Soma just cradled it closer. It was _weird,_ being alone in his soul, and having Dracula awake to fill the gaps in himself was like returning home. Even the sensation of Dracula’s darkness testing its reach, like hands opening and closing around his muscles, was welcome.

“You okay??” Jade asked.

Soma shook his head to bring himself back, anchor himself, and did his best to straighten. “I- yeah,” he said, with some difficulty, a little winded from Dracula’s awakening. At least it was not difficult to put on a smile—he really, _honestly,_ felt like grinning. “Yeah, sorry I just tripped on something!” He couldn’t tell Jade the truth about Dracula, he’d only known her ten minutes. But he could tell her “I’m okay,” and that was the truth.

She considered him for a moment, but seemed to buy it. It was hard to say what Kratos thought, with his back to them and already walking again. Soma found it hard to care about Kratos, though. That guy probably wasn’t even paying enough attention to realize Soma had staggered.

“Anyway, did you think of a meme?” Jade asked, eyeing him with an excited anticipation.

“I… completely lost my train of thought,” Soma admitted. That, too, was the truth, though he didn’t lose it just because he’d “tripped”. It was just, now he was thinking less about memes and more about Dracula. Dracula, who was making quiet judgements on Soma’s new companions, Dracula, who was _awake._ Soma was delighted, but a little nervous. If only he could get a little privacy to speak more with the dark lord…

Jade somehow seemed to get the hint, and after giving him a look said: “Well if you don’t mind, I’m gonna go bug Kratos, see if he’ll tell me anything more about himself.” She grinned a dangerous grin. “Wish me luck!”

“Good luck,” Soma said, though he wasn’t sure it was going to help. Jade saluted, though, and jogged forward to try. He almost wanted to watch, but—no, okay, he had this privacy, he was going to talk to Dracula.

‘ _About what?’_ Dracula asked, somewhere between amused and disgruntled.

 _You being awake?_ Soma answered, though he wasn’t quite sure himself what he intended to talk about, just that he wanted to talk after so long of hearing silence in his soul. _Guess I’m worried about you._

Dracula scoffed at the notion. ‘ _About me?’_

 _Well, you’d made it pretty clear your intentions were to sleep for the next eternity, so, yeah,_ Soma said. He walked with his head a little higher, his shoulders a little straighter, feeling more vibrant and alive than he had in months, despite Dracula’s darkness weighing heavy on his soul. _What woke you?_

 _‘Would_ you _truly be able to sleep through being transported to another planet?’_ Dracula’s tone was sarcastic, biting. Soma rolled his eyes. After a moment, Dracula added: ‘ _I don’t like the feel of this.’_

Soma shrugged.

 _I don’t either, but the company’s nice so far!_ he said.

‘ _Hmph._ ’ Dracula did not seem quite as convinced. ‘ _I suppose the girl IS your type,’_ he mused, after a moment.

 _What’s that supposed to mean!?_ Soma sent at him, angrily, though the answer came before he’d quite finished asking and without Dracula having to speak the words. Jade was similar to Mina and to Yoko, at least in that relaxing around her was easy to do and they could talk about memes and things, even if her knowledge of memes was severely outdated.

‘ _There’s something about her, though,’_ Dracula said.

 _Is it the ears? The tail?_ Soma asked, because like, come on.

_‘You know what, I don’t know why I bother talking to you.’_

Soma bit his tongue to keep his laughter in his mouth, tried not to think about the way Jade’s ears definitely twitched in his direction. _Hey no, come on,_ he said. _I was joking!! Tell me, I’m curious._

Dracula was silent for another moment, and when he did answer, it was by wordlessly directing Soma’s attention to what he could feel by reaching out with Dracula’s senses. There _was_ something off about Jade. Like she was here, but not entirely here, like a piece of her was missing. It was a jarring feeling.

 _Oh,_ Soma said.

‘ _Exactly_ ,’ Dracula replied.

Soma turned his attention to Kratos, now, noting the way Kratos was mostly turned away from Jade, and the way Jade was starting to look annoyed. She must be having no luck, then. Soma kind of wanted to eavesdrop, but Dracula’s attention swung to Kratos’ presence like a magnet. Soma could feel it now, too, since he was paying attention. There was something… holy, in that man’s veins. It sent shivers across Soma’s skin.

 _What do you think about him?_ he asked Dracula, honestly. _Think he’ll be a threat?_ The last thing Soma wanted was holy power turned against him again. Just the thought brought back burning memories of fighting Julius and no, no no, _no,_ he wasn’t going to think about it.

‘ _Everything can be a threat to people like us,’_ Dracula answered.

_Damn, you’re cheerful._

Dracula didn’t reply, but Soma got the distinct sense he was holding in an exasperated sigh.

 _Also, hey,_ Soma said, swinging back to the most important thing he wanted to ask before the conversation Jade was having at Kratos blew up entirely. _Now that you’re awake… that’s not a problem, is it? We had a deal, remember? I know the deal included you sleeping but…_

 _‘Worried that I’ll attempt to gain control over you again?’_ Dracula said. As he said it, his darkness flexed in Soma’s veins, a reminder.

 _Lil bit,_ Soma replied with a quiet chuckle. The dark thought crossed his mind that he could probably trust Kratos to do him in if it came to that, since Kratos seemed holy-aligned and in general like someone skilled at the art of violence, but man. What an awful thing to ask of a stranger twenty minutes after meeting him.

Dracula took a moment to sift through his next words, flickers of thought passing by Soma’s awareness too quickly for him to eavesdrop on them. Finally, Dracula told him:

‘ _We made a deal, did we not? I don’t intend on breaking it for something as silly as being on the wrong planet, as much as I loathe being awake.’_ There was a pause, but Soma could feel the weight of Dracula’s thoughts strongly enough to know to wait for his following words. ‘ _Besides. I’m still tired, Soma. Tired of being used, tired of the centuries of violence. I’ll remain here, in the backseat, as promised. Perhaps even I can manage to go back to sleep.’_

Soma smiled, startled and chest burning with warmth at being called by name instead of one of the many insults Dracula usually had on hand for him in the past.

 _I hope you can,_ he said, though in truth he selfishly wished for Dracula to stick around a little longer. _You deserve your rest._

What might have been gratitude flowed across his link to Dracula, which made Soma smile a little wider. But now Jade was approaching him again, crossing her arms dramatically over her chest as she got close enough, her nose in the air.

“Didn’t go well?” Soma guessed.

Jade was growling, low in her throat, like a literal actual dog. Soma tried not to smile, because that was mean, but also _holy shit._

“He’s ridiculous!” she declared. “Like, yeah, I’ve got family to get home to too, but _I’m_ not being a meany-pants about it!! There’s no need to be so cold and aloof—” She paused here, to cup a hand around her mouth and call at Kratos: “ _You aren’t fooling anyone, asshole!!_ ”

Soma couldn’t help it. He laughed into his hand.

Even if he was in the middle of literal nowhere, on some planet that wasn’t his own… Jade was fun to be around, and Dracula was awake. This was… maybe the best day of Soma’s life.

**Author's Note:**

> little does Soma know, in about twenty minutes he'll be meeting Solid Snake, and then it'll REALLY be the best day of his life


End file.
